


Revenge and Viscera

by ItsAllCringe



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Tokyo Ghoul, Canon-Typical Violence, Half-ghoul Saihara Shuichi, Kakuja Oma Kokichi, M/M, Oma and Harukawa have a shared past, Oma is needlessly violent, Probably kinda ooc but thats fine i can have a little ooc as a treat, Remnants of Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Shuichi is so tired
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:01:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23239621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsAllCringe/pseuds/ItsAllCringe
Summary: The tragedy occurs, and it affects humans and ghouls alikeA particular case catches Saihara's eye.Harukawa is reunited with a childhood friend.Oma hates them both.
Relationships: Harukawa Maki/Momota Kaito, Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 47





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey first multi-chapter fic and it's an au I love.  
> I'll do my best but I am. not the best at finishing things but as I've been fixated on this au for weeks now i'll so try to get this done and posted and stay on track.
> 
> Also if it isn't obvious my naming skills r lacking.

“I know you can handle this”

Shuichi knows the words are supposed to be reassuring, but in reality they’re terrifying. He’s been working for the future foundation for about three years now, and within that time he’s earned himself quite the reputation for tracking down difficult ghouls.

Most ghouls working for the future foundation do well in investigations, and despite only being a half ghoul, he’s no exception.

He’s never been allowed anywhere near a case involving a kakuja before. Kakuja aren’t as uncommon as they used to be- while the tragedy benefitted some ghouls by producing a massive amount of bodies, others have been forced to eat their own kind, as the tragedy destroyed places that offered free meat, and some hadn’t needed to hunt for themselves in years,

The stack of photos of the kakuja’s victims- both human and ghoul, but mostly ghoul- doesn’t give him a good feeling. Some of them have very obviously been eaten and just looking at the missing parts makes him feel sick.

The part that worries him is that they haven’t all been eaten- the only reason whoever put this together knows it was the same kakuja is the dna left behind.

Shuichi swallows down his nervousness and opens the file accompanying his pile of photos.

**===**

Shuichi spends hours poring over his seemingly infinite, but also frustratingly finite amounts of information. DNA evidence with nobody to match it to- most relevant databases were wiped out during the tragedy, and what was saved doesn’t match up.

He’s jerked out of his focus by a hand on his shoulder, and he turns to the person who interrupted him. It’s Harukawa, and he’s almost surprised to see her.

Almost, because she works for the future foundation, just not in the investigative division. Harukawa is usually working alongside the combat division, as she occasionally accompanies Shuichi when he’s investigating particularly dangerous ghouls. Or any ghouls, really.

“Harukawa?”

“Hey.” Her gaze slides over to the papers Shuichi has spread over his desk. “You’re working on a kakuja, right? Kirigiri told me. I’m working with you.”

Shuichi nods dumbly and watches Harukawa sit down next to him.

“So? How far have you gotten?”

Shuichi’s brain finally comes back to reality at that question, and he scrambles for his notes. “W-well, I’ve found a couple areas it seems to frequent, but I don’t think it has a typical target, so the best we could do right now is investigate areas where it’s attacked in the past, but I don’t think we’d find much…”

Harukawa responds calmly. “Well, it’s better than doing nothing. Let’s go check them out.”

“I don’t think we’re going to find anything...”

“Then we’ll just go to the most recent sites.”

“We can’t do that.”

Harukawa’s eyes narrow, and Shuichi shrinks under her gaze.

“Do you want to die?”

“N-no! It’s just that, um, we’re probably not going to run into it or anything if we go to the most recent sites of attacks. It cycles around a couple different areas- they can be grouped into eight areas it frequents. They’re all in close proximity, but most of their hunting area is within these areas. And we probably won’t find anything- the last attack was two weeks ago and no one really knows where the next one is gonna be...”

Shuichi reaches for a map near the top of his mess of papers and points out some circles he’d drawn designating each general area of frequent attack, with names written down next to each area and multiple points in specific places where each attack had taken place. 

“Here” Shuichi mumbles while handing Harukawa the map.

Silence follows while Harukawa studies the map.

“So where’s the most recent attack?”

Saihara points out a spot on the map- one almost alarmingly close to the residential areas the future foundation keeps under its watch.

“Does it have a specific pattern?”

“Not all the time, but it’s followed some before, like skipping two areas between attack sites, but every time it starts becoming apparent, it stops.”

“...we’re being toyed with.”

“Huh? I don’t think… why would it waste time like that?”

“Does it matter?”

“Um, not really?”

“Great, so let’s check out the most recent site, then we can talk about predicting where it’s gonna be next”

Shuichi has the sense to nod.

**===**

They arrive at the most recent attack site. It doesn’t really stand out- an alleyway next to an abandoned apartment building. The same kind of place a ghoul attack would’ve happened before the tragedy. He wonders if there’s a reason for this, or if abandoned alleys are just that convenient, even after the end of the world.

Pausing, Shuichi folds the map and slips it into his pocket while leaving Harukawa takes a first look at the crime scene. The blood left behind isn’t new by any stretch of the imagination, but the lack of it indicates that there wasn’t much of a fight.

The sight of spilled blood brings what he had been pondering back to the front of his mind.

_Why hunt when the tragedy has already created so many bodies?_

It’s a valid question- the tragedy had killed so many people, and only areas with strong enough leadership to rally those living around them had the manpower to clean up and move bodies. Hell- ghouls weren’t even considered a threat anymore, there was such an abundance of food that most had no need to hunt.

It doesn’t make sense, not even a kakuja needs to draw attention to themselves like that. While many of the bodies left from the tragedy were human, ghouls were not absent from the pile. 

_So why…?_

He doesn’t get the chance to finish that thought.

“Maki-chan!”

As the words ring through the air, Shuichi doesn’t think he’s ever seen Harukawa look more shocked and terrified.

Shuichi doesn’t know what- or who, really, goes after Harukawa, only knows that he watches in horror as it tackles her to the floor. Harukawa is strong, strong enough to carry Shuichi with one hand. He knows this from experience.

Watching her hit the floor makes his blood run cold.

Now that the person who had sent Harukawa to the floor isn’t bolting past him to practically attack her, Shuichi can get a better look at them.

Bright purple, messy hair. A tiny frame draped with white, straight jacket-esque clothes that don’t reassure him in the slightest. 

Not to mention the almost overpowering scent of ghoul coming off them.

“Get off of me.” Harukawa almost snarls at the person sitting on top of her, and they sniffle loudly.

“Maki-chan’s-”

“Don’t call me that.”

“-SO MEAN TO ME!!” The small ghoul practically shrieks, his entire body shaking as he openly sobs. “I missed Maki-chan so much! And when I finally see her again she gets mad at me!!! I’ve never done anything to her!!!”

“You’ve done plenty. Get off.”

The pathetically sniveling ghoul crawls off of Harukawa. “I can’t believe it, you’re so cold to me…”

Harukawa creeps back to Shuichi’s side and grabs his arm. “We’re not sticking around. ” Her normally reserved expression is almost nervous, and it certainly doesn’t help Shuichi’s rising anxiety.

“I can hear you, Maki-chan. I wanna talk, so you’re sticking around until we’re done. You’ll either do it yourself or I’ll make you.”

Usually such a vague threat would be something Shuichi brushes off, but the kagune blooming from the tiny ghoul’s back freezes him in place. It’s massive and almost similar in structure to the wings of a bat. He isn’t sure what purpose the numerous holes are supposed to serve, but his best guess is that they add surface area to them.

He doesn’t know how they really work, but he has the sense to fear them.

“Can you cooperate now? I _really_ don’t wanna hurt Maki-chan or her boyfriend.”

“It might be best if we just..”

“Saihara, you need to go.”

He doesn’t even get to run. He was too focused on the massive wing-like kagune to notice the smaller, thin, tentacle-like rinkaku that are suddenly lifting him up by the legs. Maki notices far too late, reaching for Saihara only to miss him by a couple centimeters.

Two more of the pale yellow kagune wind around Shuichi’s waist and chest, effectively immobilizing him completely.

“I can’t believe Maki-Chan’s making me hold you hostage, detective-Chan. It’s so mean of her, Y’know? I just want a nice chat and she just has to make everything difficult”

Shuichi wheezes out something incoherent, the constricting kagune making it difficult for him to breathe, much less talk.

“Let him go!”

“Then talk with me. If you don’t, I’ll squeeze him so hard his organs come out of his mouth like toothpaste!”

Silence from Harukawa. The sound of her sigh.

“Fine. We’ll talk.”

The tiny ghoul bounces around, making his apparent excitement known. The biggest problem with this is Shuichi is getting jerked around far too much to be healthy in any kind of way. 

“Get on with it then. You were so insistent on talking”

“Sure!”

The smile on the ghoul’s face drops in seconds, and a carefully neutral expression takes its place.

“Why’re you supporting the guys who’re gonna kill us once this total crisis is over?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You’re not that stupid, I know it. The future foundation’s gonna kill as many of us ghouls as possible once they restore the world or whatever. There’s no upside- we’re only allowed to live because we aren’t the biggest issue they’re facing.”

His eyes narrow, and a scowl replaces the carefully blank expression he had been maintaining before.

“We both know what happens if they restore things to how they used to be. Children will die because of how they’re born, because they have the audacity to survive. We know this. We’ve seen it.”

“Come on, Maki-chan. I rebuilt dice while you were away- we can fix everything, take it back to what it was before humans took everything from us. Our friends won’t have to die again. Nobody’s going to starve- ghouls won’t be forced to eat other ghouls to survive. We already lost everything, what’s wrong with a little revenge?”

Even Shuichi can see the faint trembling of the smaller ghoul as his eyes bore into Harukawa.

She doesn’t seem to even acknowledge his speech. The second the other shows any sign of weakness, she strikes.

He only sees Harukawa take out the basic Quinque every field agent is provided with before he’s falling to the ground while an ear-splitting shriek tears through the air. It’s not his, an unfortunate glance up tells him it’s the ghoul that’s screaming with his face contorted in rage. Of shock or pain- he isn’t sure. 

He doesn’t get time to dwell on it before Harukawa’s pulling him to his feet and almost dragging him away.

The small ghoul almost looks shocked- maybe even upset. Like he expected to have full control over the situation.

Shuichi wonders how far he would go for that control, and cringes at the idea of the ghoul following through on his earlier threats.

They don’t stop running until they’re well into future foundation territory.

**===**

After their encounter with the Kakuja, Shuichi couldn’t just let what was said slide. It takes a lot of pestering and threats from Harukawa, but eventually she caves.

“Fine. But if you tell anyone else I’ll kill you.”

Shuichi nods, and Harukawa takes a long breath before beginning.

**===**

_The a metal pot clattering to the floor alerts her to an intruder. Leaving her schoolwork on the table, Maki flings the door to the kitchen open._

_Facedown on the floor lies someone she almost considers a brother. He doesn’t stay there long, scrambling to his feet and his gaze jerking up to meet hers. Upon meeting her eyes, he almost seems to shrink. His entire body is shaking, and his normally purple eyes have slipped into a ghoulish black and red._

_“I’m assuming you have a good reason for breaking in the window”_

_She almost misses the nod he gives through his incessant trembling. Maki leans down to take his hand in an attempt to reassure him._

_Kokichi finally sputters out something coherent after slightly calming down._

_“We-we can’t stay here! They’re gonna- they found dice a-and” He breaks into a sob instead of continuing. They both know what he means._

_They left that afternoon._

**===**

_“Harukawa-chan.”_

_His voice is colder now, almost colder than the kakugan that burn into the back of her head. It’s better than the fake emotion he injects into it around those they don’t know. He drops his bag on the floor, and the accompanying wet noise makes her cringe._

_“You can’t just not eat. We both-”_

_“I know that! Just.. leave it in the fridge or something. I’ll eat. And wash out your bag, we can’t just buy a new one.”_

_The following silence is broken by the rustling of fabric and quiet footsteps. Hands gently place a small, brown bag on the table Maki is using._

_His voice is softer now, and some of the lingering genuine emotion slips in._

_“I stole some sugarcubes too, if you want those instead. It’s still something.”_

_Maki pauses. Stealing’s become a hobby of his recently, but she doesn’t have the energy to be upset about it._

_“...thank you.”_

**===**

_The front door opening is enough to get Kokichi to poke his head out of his room. Harukawa is hours early- she tends to stay out as long as possible. He knows it’s mostly to stay away from him, but he stopped caring a long time ago. He wouldn’t want to be around himself either. Being a ghoul is bad enough, but being a monster who’s practically a ticking time bomb is worse._

_She comes inside first, and he spots two others behind her._

_Something spiteful inside him eggs him on. Tells him to make sure one of them sees him and his disgusting eyes. Ruin everything all over again and make her just as alone as he is._

_He watches these new people. He can’t help being interested, he hasn’t had any interaction with… anyone, really in a long time. He wonders if they’re why Harukawa seems happier, even when she has to be around him. The guilt makes itself known then, reminds him that wanting to ruin everything Harukawa built up in the past year is a disgusting thing to want, much less consider._

_Too late._

_Harukawa’s blue-haired friend catches his gaze, and he sees the other’s eyes widen. That’s all he needs to see to know he’s already screwed everything up._

_He disappears back into his room. His door locks, and he hides from the world._

**===**

Shuichi doesn’t say anything as she explains everything. Her voice cracks when she tells him about watching him morph into someone- some _thing_ else. Harukawa stops after telling Shuichi about Oma’s sudden disappearance. She whispers that it had been the first time she’d seen him in years, about how _terrified_ she was. How he turned into a _monster_.

He remembers catching the small boy’s eye one day, years ago. He remembers watching him disappear into a room, but it wasn’t like he was going into Harukawa’s house to chase down someone he didn’t know.. He had asked Harukawa about him later that day, privately of course. She had explained that he was her little brother, and that they were both ghouls.

Not like that was a problem, Shuichi himself being a half-ghoul is arguably a bigger issue, but that’s not the point. He had forgotten about him after that first glimpse, and Harukawa never talked about him, so when the tragedy struck, Harukawa was the only one who thought to go look for him.

Not like she found him when looking anyway.

He hates to be the one to bring them back to reality, to remind them of their world situation and the fact that they still need to write a report on the… encounter, no matter what emotions are involved.

“H-Harukawa..”

“Yeah. We can’t just sit here forever. Go on ahead and start with your incident report or whatever. I-I’ll be there in a bit. Saihara?”

“Yes?”

“Um, thank you for listening to me.”

Shuichi nods and scurries out of the room.

**===**

Back at his desk, Shuichi finds an incident report waiting for him. Either Harukawa asked someone else to leave it for him, or someone’s telepathic.

He can’t completely write off the later as impossible, but the former is much more likely considering the conversation they just had.

He’s just settling down to get the report that had just been added to his already sizeable mountain of paperwork done when-

“Shuichi!”

One one person in the building is brazen enough to be calling him by his first name.

“Ah, Kaito…”

Something about Shuichi makes Kaito pause, if for only a second.

Must be because his shirt is still wet with ghoul blood, and the dirt all over his face.

“Hey man, I know you’re a workaholic an’ all, but are you alright? You, uh, don’t look so well.”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Harukawa and I ran into some trouble earlier and I’ll be leaving to wash off once I finish this up.”

“You ran into trouble? What happened? You know I can’t just let people mess with my sidekicks!”

“I don’t mean to be rude but I don’t think you would’ve fared any better. Harukawa and I are both ghouls and still could’ve died.”

“Wh- that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be fine! We all do training every night!”

“You don’t train, you talk about the stars.”

“I-well- yeah, I guess so, but it’s the thought that counts!”

“...sure.”

Kaito grins as if he won their disagreement, but Shuichi isn’t particularly willing to turn this into a full blown argument, especially because he still has work to do.

“Thanks for stopping by then.”

Kaito grins. “No problem Shuichi!”

He finally heads off, probably to talk to Harukawa, and Shuichi sighs deeply as he begins his report.

An hour passes, and he’s finally done. He’s drained both physically and mentally, and can’t wait to get his now damp and sticky shirt off. The poor thing might never see the light of day again. He doesn’t know how well blood stains wash out, especially after over an hour of leaving it to dry.

When Shuichi finally gets to bed, he passes out almost immediately.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kokichi can't control his emotions part one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bwaaaagh im so tired but we vibin dw abt it I'm going to bed right after this is posted because if i dont do it now I'll be back at 9pm like "haha sorry im late"
> 
> Lowkey unsure about posting this but shit happens if I don't like it I don't like it it eez what it eez y'know.

Glass shatters.  _ Not enough. _ He digs sharp-ended kagune into concrete and breaks it apart from the inside out, each resulting piece littering the floor.  _ Not enough. _ His eyes lock onto one of the masked ghouls watching his tantrum- one of his subordinates.

“You.” He snarls at them, entire body trembling with rage. “Get over here.”

A pause elicits a piercing glare from their leader, and they practically bolt to his side. “Y-yes?”

It takes seconds. One moment they’re standing at his side, the next a scorpion tail-esque bikaku digs its way into their stomach. It’s much too thick to go all the way through, but it’s gone far enough to cause significant damage.

They drop to their knees, clutching their stomach as blood soaks through their shirt.

Kokichi takes the opportunity to slam their face into the floor.

Once.

_ Thwack _ .

Twice.

_ Thwack _ . Blood starts making its way down their forehead.

Three times.

A sickening crack greets Kokichi’s ears as all too appetizing, bright red blood pools around the fallen ghoul’s head.

They don’t sit back up, and Kokichi isn’t sure they’re even alive anymore. He knows ghouls can die through blunt force trauma- he’d heard about it well before the tragedy. Some ghoul got a ton of construction materials dropped on them and died from the pure amount of it. He’s sure he didn’t hit the one currently on the floor in front of him  _ that _ hard.

The fresh blood pooling around their head and staining their hair combined with their complete lack of movement says otherwise. Smelling blood is enough to ignite his hunger, and his remaining semblance of self-control is used to avoid staring directly at the all too tempting corpse as he instead redirects his attention to the only other living ghoul in the room.

“Clean it up.” Kokichi snaps at the only other ghoul in the room, standing in shocked silence. Unwilling to suffer the same or possibly a worse fate, silent ghoul nods and gets to work.

He looms over them and watches them tremble before finally turning and leaving them to work in silence.

He knows none of them really want to work for him, but he offers some semblance of protection from much worse fates.

Actually, he could qualify as a worse fate at this point. That doesn’t matter though, he offers free food and has a significant amount of territory to his name. That’s enough for some.

He slinks out of the room as the living subordinate continues to scrub the floor with well-labeled cleaning supplies kept specifically for gorey messes like the one Kokichi left behind.

Kokichi himself heads for his self-proclaimed planning room, and by planning room he means the room that has various maps splayed upon the walls with near-illegible scribbles adorning them.

He stands on the table to reach his hardest to find map- the one he’s pinned to the ceiling. He fishes his trusty red marker from his abyssal pockets to check the largest circle- the one in which laid the unsuspecting alleyway he’d encountered Maki and her currently nameless friend.

He makes the executive decision to name Maki’s friend stupid hat because it was arguably his worst and yet most notable feature.

Seriously, the thing didn’t even fall off when he was hanging upside down, courtesy of Kokichi himself. Maybe it’s been on so long it fused to his head.

He plans on running into them again sometime soon. Maybe he’ll tear that hat off himself just to test his theory- or really just to get rid of the worst, ugliest piece of clothing he’s ever seen. Maybe he’ll be able to take it home and burn it.

God, he hopes that stupid had doesn’t have more than one or else all his effort to destroy the thing will be useless.

Kokichi flips over one of many unused pieces of paper and doodles Maki on it. Seeing her was actually a nice refresher, he was starting to forget what her face looked like.

He doodles Stupid Hat too. Mostly because he’s someone new but also vaguely familiar. Maybe he was Maki’s friend before the tragedy. Kokichi never really kept track of Maki’s friends. More because they were forced to move and cut contact every couple years or so than because he didn’t care. He didn’t, but that was mostly because seeing her live a relatively normal life pissed him off.

None of that matters now. When he turns back to his piece of paper he frowns. His total absolute masterpiece had been absolutely ruined. Not because he was bad at drawing- stupid hat was just ugly and not even an artist of his caliber could make that into anything pretty when you can only really draw a third of his face- the rest hidden under that hat.

The hat is really starting to piss him off. 

He’s gonna take a bite out of it if stupid hat shows up with the aforementioned hat ever again, then he’ll never wear it because it’s torn up and kokichi put his mouth on it. And then he’ll make fun of him for being gross if he ever sees it again.

His plan totally 100% set in stone, he can finally forget about the hat and attend to more pressing matters. Like what he’s going to do now that he knows he’s being properly hunted.

Maybe he’ll start a new pattern until one of them catches on.

Kokichi groans, fully laying down on the table. That’s gonna take forever, even if he eats every day because everyone but him is stupid and can’t figure out his plans ever.

A knock on the door pulls him from his thoughts.

“Oma-san?”

If there isn’t a good reason for this, he’s going to kill whatever asshole saw it fit to bother him when he is very clearly busy. Kokichi slides off the table and cracks the door open.

“What.”

They shrink under his glare.

“W-well, there’s someone who requested to speak with you.”

His eyes narrow. He’s made it clear on multiple occasions that he doesn’t care if the former prime minister wants to speak with him, he doesn’t want to speak with them.

The only real exception is Maki, but that’s besides the point.

“So? I’m sure you know  _ very _ well that I don't accept visitors, no matter who they are.”

“Ah, well..”

“Spit it out if it’s that important.”

“They claim to be a remnant of despair and-”

Kokichi pasuses. Anyone can  _ claim _ to be a remnant. Nobody has reliable enough information to prove their identity anymore. Unless they’re part of the future foundation, but that doesn’t matter because that doesn’t mean anything when you’re talking about remnants.

“Are you stupid? Literally anyone could say that. I don’t care who they say they are, kick them out.”

“-they’ve taken someone hostage.”

“Why the hell didn’t you start with that?!”

He doesn’t wait for a response, just stomps past them to find the idiot who thinks they can waltz in and take any part of organization hostage- one practically worthless member or not, the  _ audacity _ of someone to do so, remnant or not, pisses him off. The idiot that had been standing in front of him clearly cannot be trusted to give him the proper information at the proper time.

He considers gouging their eyes out and making them eat at least one as a punishment, then pushes the idea aside. He can dwell on it later- currently he has a very important idiot to attend to.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: The CCG main office is under remnant control, being one of the first organizations to fall to the remnants of despair’s constant attacks. Most CCG ward offices have been destroyed or otherwise repurposed by the communities that live near them. The main office and Cochlea (which is still in use under control of the Future Foundation- but not to the capacity it had been before) are some of the only CCG buildings left intact, although it’s said a long-haired, red-eyed ghost haunts the main office…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That doesn't actually have anything to do with the chapter I just wanted to tell someone that  
> Highkey unsure abt posting this but we  
> I haven't written nagito/servant like. Ever at all so we'll see how this goes and if it doesn't turn out well I have other au's in my google docs I could post if I end up abandoning this no depriving of content in this house

“ _ Kyoko?” _

_ “Yes, Naegi?” _

_ “I got a call from Komaru this morning- she says the Servant disappeared last week and hasn’t been seen since. Uh, I was hoping you could give some advice on what to do.” _

_ Servant had been fairly easy to keep track of up until recently. While those like Komaru and Toko who were still in Towa city were essentially trapped due to the warriors of hope blocking off or destroying any exits before they fell apart, that had also meant Servant had nowhere to go. _

_ Until recently, apparently. _

_ “I don’t think a remnant would abandon a city they’ve practically based themselves in. Wait a bit longer before we decide he’s moved on. I’ll tell you if I hear of any significant remnant activity that may involve him. Tell Komaru and Toko to keep a lookout for him since they’ve had the most contact.” _

_ “Thank you, Kyoko.” _

**_===_ **

Kokichi stomps into the abandoned convenience store that doubles as the entrance to Dice’s otherwise completely hidden, underground, hideout and is hit with the scent of rotting flesh almost immediately. 

This was the entrance nobody was supposed to give a second glance, but of course some idiot brought a potential threat right to their doorstep. Not only that, but a supposed remnant as well! He’s gonna kill whoever did it, and he’ll make it painful.

The only other person in the otherwise empty store is a tall man with hair that reminds him of a cotton ball. He’s probably where the scent of rotting flesh is coming from. Spotting the oven mitt covering Fluffball’s hand gives him more than enough information. Probably suffering from some kind of necrosis resulting from a severe infection- maybe he cut off his hand and it isn’t healing up like, at all. Infection isn’t particularly rare, but he doesn’t see necrosis often.

Kokichi doesn’t particularly fancy the taste of rotting flesh- even kakuja have standards.

Fluffball brightens up upon Kokichi’s entry. “Ah, I suppose that you’re Oma-kun?”

“And what are you, a sentient cotton ball?”

The other seems to brush his comment off. Something about that bugs him. That total lack of reaction isn’t right- people are supposed to get upset when you make fun of them. It should bug him, but he just shrugs it aside like some kind of pushover.

“Ahaha, I only wish to speak with you.”

“I don’t care about what the local faker has to say to me, so do us both a favor and leave.”

“Oh I’m not too worried about you harming me.”

Oma takes a quick glance at the rest of the shop. Still abandoned, dust undisturbed from the majority of the store remaining untouched. Nothing to imply traps set prior to their impromptu meeting.

“You’re either bullshitting me oooor you’re a confident asshole. Either way you’re a stupid liar. I hate liars, don’tcha know?”

“I’ve heard, but I can promise you I’m not lying. I’d never lie to an ultimate in a position such as yourself.”

“Ultimate? I’ve never set foot in hopes peak.”

“Perhaps not, but Hopes Peak made the names of upcoming ultimate students public. I happen to remember spotting your name on the list.”

“Ew. What are you, some kind of creeper?”

“If that’s what you’d like to call me… but I don’t believe that’s not very pertinent to our- or really,  _ your _ \- current situation.”

“Which one? The one where the world’s gone to shit or the one where you’re basically trespassing except I don’t think that’s a thing anymore?”

“Neither? I simply want to talk.”

“I don’t.”

“If that’s the case, I hope this will convince you.”

They stand in silence, and Kokichi’s preparing to laugh his ass off at the lanky idiot in front of him who thought he could intimidate Kokichi into… whatever he wants.

He opens his mouth to unleash his tirade when the sound of the explosion rips through the air. The sound of some building crumbling to the floor follows.

Explosions off in the distance aren’t anything new. Explosions that sound a block away- so close that you can see the cloud of dust, from inside another building are not. They especially aren’t when some asshole has just finished cryptically threatening you.

Even if it wasn’t him, Kokichi’s gotta give Fluffball some credit for timing.

“If you’re implying what I think you are, then we’ll talk.”

Kokichi knows if an explosion has enough force behind it, it can definitely kill a ghoul. Maybe even a kakuja, and he’s not willing to be the one to test it out.

“That’s very kind of you Oma-kun.”

“It’s not kind when you’re threatening to blow up my entire organization.”

“I apologize, but when I initially inquired I was informed of your stubbornness.”

“I don’t want your excuses. Just hurry up and start talking or I’ll kick you out anyway.”

Fluffball chuckles before beginning his… speech? Proposal? Kokichi doesn’t really know what to call it, but he listens in case Fluffball says something important.

“I assume you know of my remnant status, since you were calling me a ‘faker’ earlier. I know I of all people don’t carry a lot of authority, and understandably so, but-”

God, Fluffball talks a lot. Does a lot of self-deprecating too. Said self-deprecation is taking up time and it’s really starting to bug him. Unfortunately, something tells him if he says anything, the conversation is going to take even longer and that’s the opposite of what he wants.

“-I can assure you I’m not faking anything. But your little organization caught my eye. Taking a whole ward- small as it is- like this one for your own is rather impressive. Which is why I’d like to request a… partnership of sorts.”

_ That _ grabs his attention. Last he heard, remnants of despair only work with each other. He’s never heard of ‘partnerships’ being formed. 

“Oh? And what would this partnership entail?”

Fluffball’s smile widens at his question, and Kokichi mentally mimes gagging. He looks more than a little creepy, especially considering his prior threats.

“Well, considering your little run-in with the future foundation, the other day, we can offer help during any future skirmishes.”

“Why would I need your help?”

Fluffball raises an eyebrow at that. “I wouldn’t underestimate the future foundation if I were you. They have quite the fighting force when they need it. Specifically, if you were to catch their attention.”

Kokichi’s eyes narrow. “Is that my penalty if I deny you? You tip them off and send them after me- after Dice?”

That creepy smile doesn’t falter. “I never said anything of the sort. What makes you think I’d do that?”

“You’ve already threatened me once. I don’t doubt you’d do it again.”

“Ahaha, if you believe that I would do such a thing, then isn’t that just more of a reason to accept my proposal?”

“It’s more of a reason to not trust you.”

“I wouldn’t trust me either, so I don’t blame you…”

“...If my only other option is possibly losing everything I’ve built up, then I’ll put up with you.”

“We appreciate the cooperation, and you’ll be contacted if your assistance is required.”

He’d slaughter Fluffball here and now if there weren’t immediate consequences to doing so.

“Can you take your bombs with you too?”

Fluffball looks genuinely confused, and it’s really starting to get to him.

“Why would I do that?”

“I don’t appreciate being threatened, that’s why.”

That oh-so unassuming smile comes back, and Kokichi wants to tear him limb from limb.

“Think of it as an incentive to stick with us. A motive of sorts.”

Whatever idiot let this asshole in and essentially doomed Dice is going to be annihilated. He’s going to drown then, let them feel the burn of breathing in water before he takes them apart. If they’re smart, they’ve already started running. If they’re not, then he won’t have a problem getting someone else to hunt them down.

Fluffball wanders out with that stupid smile plastered on his face, and the scent of rotting flesh finally starts to fade. Kokichi wants to smash his face into a pulp.

He lays on top of the counter to look underneath and locks eyes with a trembling, tied up ghoul. He’s not stupid enough to forget what brought him out here in the first place.

“Did you bring the fluffball here?”

They frantically shake their head. It’s understandable- they just listened to Kokichi get backed into a metaphorical corner, and the entire organization that’s been keeping… some sort of peace in the majority of the 14th ward was just threatened with complete exposure. Kokichi grumbles about incompetent idiots who can’t follow his rules and kickstarted this entire situation while untying them.

His freed subordinate mumbles their thanks before bolting back into Dice’s thankfully still intact hideout.

Kokichi sits on the floor and pulls at his hair. He’s pissed. He’s supposed to be the one controlling situations like this, not the other way around. After a couple of minutes reserved for sulking, he scrambles to his feet and stomps back into Dice’s hideout.

The first person Kokichi comes across is grabbed by the shirt.

“Find whoever brought someone here this morning. Was probably on guard duty. I want to see them as soon as possible.”

Panicked nodding makes him let go of the poor kid and they scamper off, probably to cry about what they now have to do and bring him anyone they could find.

He can’t find it within himself to care.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm working on some other stuff rn so updates are gonna slow down on this. I don't have a bunch of motivation for this either so it eez what it eez

Going back through his provided files, something felt off.

_ If Kokichi had lived with Harukawa, when did he leave? Why? _

Shuichi’s brain stops providing him with useless questions while he watches Harukawa- who had sat next to him while he wasn’t paying attention- pick up a stack of his notes.

“Is this all of them?”

He nods and looks over his marked map of Kokichi’s frequented areas, eyes wandering to the newly marked alleyway where the attack just the other day had taken place.  _ Did he know we were there? Why not just wait until we left to do… whatever he was going to do there? Did he mean to run into us? Did he plan it out? _

“I don’t think we’ll see him again.”

“Huh? Why?” Shuichi’s almost surprised, they just started this case and there’s no real problems he can think of.

“Well, he knows we’re hunting him. Anyone would lay low and avoid feeding. Maybe even move away from their previously established feeding territory.”

“Um, I don’t think he really cares? Didn’t you say we were being toyed with before? Knowing he’s being hunted will only encourage him, right?”

That silences her for a minute.

“I don’t… that doesn’t make sense.”

“Neither does seeing two people who very obviously work for the future foundation and attacking them.”

“So what would he do then?”

“Get attention. He’s been toying with us, just in case someone was investigating him. Now that he knows we’re probably going after him, he’s just going to cause more trouble.”

“That’s stupid. He’ll just get caught easier.”

“Well, yeah, but there’s probably some kind of reason for it, like luring someone in, or-”

“Luring someone like me.”

“I- well- yeah, probably. He knows you the best, doesn’t he?”

“Well, I can protect myself. Falling into some kind of trap won’t be a big deal.”

“We should still be careful..”

“Well, no shit. You just don’t have to be too freaked out”

“Ah.. thank you?”

Silence falls between them as Shuichi begins working again, occasionally exchanging notes and making slight corrections.

By the time Shuichi spots Kirigiri herself bringing more files to add to the stack, he barely even has time to dread what else may be coming.

“Saihara.”

“Ah, Kirigiri-san…”

“I apologize, as the two of you seem to be working, but another victim believed to pertain to your case has been found.”

Shuichi reaches for the folder in her hands and receives them without comment.

“Please be careful while conducting your investigation. Good luck, Saihara-san.”

Shuichi nods and murmurs his thanks while Kirigiri walks off- probably to work on her own cases.

“So? Where was it? Were they human or Ghoul?”

Looking over the file, Shuichi mentally cringes before he answers.

“Area 5, if I remember right- used to be the fifteenth ward. Ghoul. He didn’t eat though- the only wounds on the victim are the ones that killed them.”

“So...”

“He’s looking to get attention.”

They get a second report later that day, this time brought to them by Kirumi, and Shuichi’s heart sinks. He knows he said Kokichi would cause issues, but more than one in a single day is past excessive. Most ghouls at least feed when they kill. Leaving the body behind without touching it like that is just..

He’s just toying with them- not just Harukawa and himself, but also the humans and ghouls unlucky enough to stumble across Oma.

If anything good comes from this amount of bloodshed it’s that they have more to go off of and possibly pinpoint a pattern- if there even is one. Oma’s setting up a trap, and probably trying to lure Harukawa in. For what- he isn’t sure, but something about how quickly things are getting done tells him Oma’s either impatient, has no clue what he’s doing, or possibly both.

They stop for the day after receiving that second folder.

**===**

Shuichi comes back to another folder the next day, lays his head on the desk for a minute, then grabs for the map to write down where each new murder has been

More shit to keep track of. Possible patterns, why the victims were killed- feeding or for no fucking reason- wether victims were human or ghoul…

Coffee becomes his first priority. It certainly won’t help his forming headache, but it’ll help prepare him for the amount of paperwork looming over him.

He finds Tojo getting her own cup of coffee when he gets there. Tojo- also a ghoul- has voiced her distaste for coffee multiple times. He doesn’t ask- Tojo has a reputation for not only taking on more than one case at a time, but also for working insane amounts of overtime and occasionally cleaning up without being asked.

As far as Shuichi’s concerned, if she feels that she needs coffee it’s not his place to ask why. He gives her a small nod as a greeting while getting his own coffee.

Back at his desk, going back through the files concerning Oma’s two most recent victims and glancing up at his marked map, Shuichi feels a spark of excitement when he thinks he spots a quickly forming pattern.

Oma seemed to be going to one area, skipping one to the left and then going to the skipped middle one. It’s a bit of a hasty conclusion, and he absolutely can’t start operating on the assumption of a new pattern this soon.

Harukawa comes in while he’s scribbling down this newfound pattern, and he stumbles over his words while excitedly telling her about his… assumption, really.

It doesn’t matter, he’s excited about what he noticed and he needs to tell someone. Harukawa agrees with it being plausible while Shuichi once again goes back over his files with a newfound sense of excitement.

**===**

The sudden increase in victims relating to Oma stopped after the first two days. He knows Oma may continue after a week or two, but the most recent two have given him a good amount of information to work with on their own.

He feels bad about it, but Shuichi can’t help but be excited. They’re making progress- maybe if they’re lucky they can find a way to finish this before another person loses their life to Oma. It’s a lofty, unreasonable goal, but the excitement is enough for him to have a little hope for the future- and for finishing up this case.

**Author's Note:**

> I can write Tokyo Ghoul au. As a treat.


End file.
